The Cat's Outta the Bag
by Madame Kiksters
Summary: A Secret Santa for hakuzo-k! Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoy this! . Natsume liked to think he did a good job at keeping his biggest secret hidden from the Fujiwaras. He would go to great lengths to prevent them from finding out.


**The Cat's Outta the Bag**

 **Summary:**

 **A Secret Santa for hakuzo-k!**  
 **Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoy this!**

 **Natsume liked to think he did a good job at keeping his biggest secret hidden from the Fujiwaras. He would go to great lengths to prevent them from finding out.**

 **Notes: For hakuzo_k.**

 **Wow...that summary made me want to write something else. Sorry if it is misleading, but I will probably be writing something that fits the summary even better (and even steamier) later.**  
 **'Til then, please enjoy!**

 **(See the end of the work for more notes.)**

* * *

"Takashi, could you please answer the door?" Touko called from the stove as she tried to thoroughly fry some meat for dinner without burning it.

"Yes ma'am." Natsume answered as shuffled down the stairs. Nyanko ran in front of him and into the kitchen, his tiny grunts the only sign his stubby legs were giving him any trouble.

The blond smiled to himself as he approached the door. Opening it, he found a young woman standing outside. "Can I help you?"

"I'm lost. Do you think you could help me?"

Natsume looked at the nearby wall clock before returning his attention to the young woman. She seemed a bit off, but that was probably because she was lost, and night was fast approaching.

"Touko-san?" Natsume called to get her attention and waited for her to hum in acknowledgement before continuing. "There's a woman outside who says she's lost. Would you mind if I escorted her to where she needs to go?"

"Where does she need to go?" Touko asked as she checked the time and noted how late it was getting.

Natsume blushed as he replied. "Let me ask."

Touko smiled fondly at Takashi's willingness to help, but then frowned slightly when she thought about how that helpfulness could let him be taken advantage of.

Nyanko watched intently as she continued stirring the meat. Natsume's return didn't faze him.

"She says she needs help finding the bus station." Natsume answered.

Touko sighed worriedly. "I don't like that you'll be out so late. Why not let me or Shigeru go with you two? Then no one would be alone!" Touko offered.

"I really don't want to trouble you."

"Takashi." Touko began as she turned off the stove and whipped around to face Natsume. Her expression uncharacteristically stern. "It would cause me more grief if I let you go out alone with a stranger so late at night."

Natsume raised his hands to indicate he wasn't going to argue anymore and gave a small smile of appreciation. "I'll let her know."

"I'll be there in a minute. I just need to cover the meat so Nyankichi-kun doesn't get any ideas." They chuckled at the cat's expense before Natsume left to go and inform the woman of their plans.

"My guardian is coming with us. When she finishes what she's doing we can escort you to the bus station."

"Such a nice boy." The woman remarked.

Natsume rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Normally people's compliments about his character were worthless unless they knew of his peculiarities.

"You have a strange aura about you, child."

Natsume instantly felt the mood change. Only certain kinds of people brought up auras.

"I'm not sure what you mean?" Natsume tried, hoping the subject would just be laughed off.

"I sense a hidden strength not many possess. You must attract all kinds of trouble." The woman laughed.

Natsume entertained the thought of shutting the door in her face but Touko was making her way over.

"I'm coming."

"There's no rush." Natsume assured as he turned back to the woman. He heard Touko stop behind him.

"This is my guardian, Touko-san. She is going to be walking with us to the bus station." Natsume gestured.

The woman turned and gave a little bow to Touko. "I'm sorry to trouble you at such a late hour."

"Takashi who are you talking to?"

Turning from the stranger to Touko, Natsume felt his stomach drop. His vision tunneled, and everything froze. He expected fear in her expression and was slightly relieved when she only looked confused. In the next moment, everything changed.

Her eyebrows furrowed, and her mouth pulled into a frown. "Takashi, what's going on? There's no one there."

He heard the stranger gasp before apologizing as she disappeared into the night.

"Takashi?"

"I…I…" Natsume couldn't speak. Everything was falling apart around him. She was going to find out. He could feel it. Then she would really know why his uniform got dirty or scratched. She would know his trips were him dealing with spirits. She would find out about the Matoba Clan.

Then Shigeru would know. He would remember every time he allowed Natsume to explore and wonder if he encountered a spirit. He would find out that evil spirits would often break into the house.

They would find out their home wasn't safe. That they weren't safe.

They would find out that he wasn't safe.

"Takashi!"

Natsume barely got to look up before Nyanko headbutted his chin hard enough for tears to well in the corner of his eyes.

Hissing in pain, Natsume gritted his teeth as he rubbed his chin.

"Oh my! Let me get some ice for that. I don't know what got into Nyankichi-kun all of a sudden." She fretted as she worked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Touko-san." Natsume assured as he glared daggers at Nyanko while secretly feeling eternally grateful for his "bodyguard's" quick thinking.

"Don't think you're off the hook for earlier. I still have questions and I want you to answer them."

Natsume sighed in defeat. Maybe he could run away and avoid the Fujiwaras until he could come up with a good lie? He stared at his hands resting in his lap while Touko inspected the blooming redness on his chin.

She tutted as she handed him the ice pack. "You wouldn't think he could have the strength to even jump that high."

Natsume watched as Nyanko glared daggers into the back of Touko's head at the insult. The spirit was soothed when Touko turned her attention on the cat and made sure his head hadn't suffered too much damage.

Natsume waited for her to bring up the issue again, but she didn't.

At dinner, as they all sat and ate the meal Touko had prepared, Natsume kept waiting for Touko to mention it to Shigeru. He was amazed when she never did. She did stare at him with concern throughout the entire meal. Shigeru noticed, but other than a look between them, he didn't comment on it.

It had been two days and the Fujiwaras had yet to bring up the incident to Natsume again. He couldn't tell if Touko had told Shigeru yet. If she had, then Shigeru was an excellent actor…or maybe he just didn't care.

Natsume smacked his cheeks to punish those kinds of self-destructive thoughts.

"Why'd you hit yourself?"

The blond looked over at Nyanko's question. "Nothing."

Nyanko flicked an ear and stared wordlessly at the human.

Natsume sighed. "When do you think they are going to bring it up?"

"Bring what up?"

Natsume chucked his eraser at the cat for being purposefully obtuse. Nyanko hissed and batted at the offending object before he threw it back as hard as he could.

The blond reached the few inches to retrieve the eraser where it fell a few inches short of hitting him. "You know what, sensei."

"Natsume, I don't think the Fujiwara's would care." Nyanko answered as he soothed the fur around his ears before a thought struck him. "In fact, them knowing would make my job so much easier and stop you from returning those names. I say we tell them right now!"

Golden eyes glared at the cat before Natsume sighed. "I wish I could just make them forget about the whole thing. Then I could relax and quit waiting for the impending interrogation." He admitted quietly.

"Why not ask Hinoe for something?" Nyanko offered.

Natsume laughed nervously. "I don't think I could actually erase someone's memory."

"It was only a suggestion." Came the cat's bored reply.

The only sound in the room was Nyanko's fur as it rustled from his grooming.

"Right."

It was several days before Natsume had the opportunity to ask Hinoe for help. He waited until everyone was drunk before asking her if she knew anything.

"Make humans forget…I think that alcohol would do the trick." She slurred.

"No…not just forget for the night. Forget something that happened awhile ago." Natsume specified.

"Ohhh…" she hummed in thought. "I think that is exorcists' specialty. Spirits just kind of eat the human or count on the fact that the human will simply be called crazy if they tell."

Natsume looked down, feeling dejected at his failure, even though he figured it was a long shot.

"Thanks anyways, Hinoe."

He received a hum of acknowledgement before she took a few more generous sips of the alcohol she was enjoying.

The next weekend, the situation hadn't gotten any better. Natsume was getting more anxious than ever. With a firm resolve, he found Natori's number and gave him a call.

He heard it ring a few times before the thought that this was a stupid idea crossed his mind. He was about to hand up without leaving a message when Natori answered.

"Natsume! It isn't often you call me." Natori greeted chipperly. "Is everything alright?"

The young man shot Nyanko a look for support. The pudgy cat was dozing on a pillow, but he cracked an eye open when Natsume looked away.

"I had a question."

"Okay?"

"About…" Natsume sucked in a breath. "Memory. Making people forget things."

There was a long, tense silence that followed.

When Natori spoke again, his voice was full of concern. "Natsume…what's going on?"

Natsume explained the situation. Being very careful with his wording to not worry Natori too much. He didn't want the exorcist to come here himself.

Natori tried to talk him out of it… several times.

"If I don't tell you, you're just going to keep searching, aren't you?"

Natsume didn't answer and he eventually heard Natori sigh over the phone.

"Listen, Natsume. Tampering with memories…that's a Clan Head's area of expertise. No one other than a handful of people are taught that skill."

"Oh."

"Look. I'll ask around and see if I can find someone to help you, alright?"

"Not Matoba." Natsume demanded.

"Right. Not Matoba. I'd like to keep him as far away from this as possible."

They shared a chuckle at the shared feeling about the exorcist.

Inevitably, Matoba heard about it almost immediately. It was that Monday that Matoba showed up outside of the Fujiwaras' residence after school.

Nyanko was resting on Natsume's shoulder, his fur puffing out enough that it tickled the blond's neck as he walked.

"Matoba." Natsume greeted curtly.

The exorcist gave one of his wide, fake smiles. "Natsume. I heard you were looking for help getting rid of someone's memory."

"You heard wrong. I don't need any help from you."

"Come now, Natsume. I only wanted to let you know that I would be more than happy to lend you my assistance. Free of charge. No tricks. No ulterior motives. No schemes."

"If you're involved, it's some kind of scheme." Natsume accused.

Matoba paused to let Natsume finish before he continued as if the blond hadn't spoken. "I promise."

Nyanko and Natsume shared a quick laugh at the absurdity of the last part.

"Yes, well. I don't need your help Matoba. Thank you and I am sorry you wasted any time waiting here." Natsume answered as he tried to brush past the exorcist.

Matoba allowed him to go, but slipped a card inside of Natsume's pants. "Feel free to call if you change your mind."

Natsume looked down at the card in his hand biting his lip. It had been two weeks without word from Natori. He tried calling but he never got an answer. His voice mails were never answered either.

The Fujiwaras were acting more cautious around him for the past few days. Touko must have told Shigeru something finally. It had been a month since Natori had last talked to him and Natsume was getting desperate to return to the way things were.

He waited until Nyanko was out before even considering calling Matoba. Better to ask forgiveness than permission with that cat.

Taking a steadying breath, Natsume dialed the numbers on the card slowly to make sure he didn't dial the wrong number on accident.

He knew he succeeded when a silky voice answered after the third ring. "Hello, Natsume. Considered my offer?"

"This memory thing. How does it work?" Natsume asked bluntly.

Matoba chuckled. "If I told you that, it wouldn't be one of the world's most well-kept secrets. Now would it?"

Natsume only sighed in annoyance. After a few moments Matoba decided to give Natsume something.

"I perform a ritual and leave something in the house for an entire day. As long as a trigger object is removed during this time, it should effectively eliminate the desired memory."

Natsume gnawed at his lip nervously. A bad habit he'd picked up during the stressful times he was going through. "What if the object…was a person?"

"They'd simply have to stay away for the same amount of time."

Natsume took a long moment to consider the information given to him before finally relenting.

"I still don't like this…but," I can't believe I am doing this. He thought. "Would you help me get rid of the Fujiwaras memory of an incident that happened a while ago where they saw me talking to a spirit?"

"Of course! I'll be by tomorrow to begin the ritual and pick you up. Is there any good time where the Fujiwaras won't be around?"

Natsume felt like this was dangerous information to give to this man. Then again, if Matoba wanted to get him, he had no qualms about stealing him from his bed in the middle of the night.

Against his better judgement, Natsume answered. "They should both be gone about midafternoon tomorrow."

"Excellent."

Natsume could hear a cell door closing as he sealed his fate. "See you tomorrow."

Natsume had it all planned out. He asked Touko if he could go and spend the night with a friend. She reluctantly agreed. He also managed to trick Nyanko into going out drinking early. But he made sure to leave a note telling Nyanko where he was going for when he got back. In case he didn't return, or his bodyguard felt like collecting him. He'd tried to talk to Tanuma and ask if he could just spend the night at his place, but apparently, he and his dad were out of town. Just his luck.

Matoba arrived right on time. He had a strange bag in his hand as he stepped inside of the Fujiwara residence. Natsume followed along behind him as Matoba searched for a good place to stow the bag. He asked where Natsume's room was and followed the young man's instructions to his bedroom.

"This door on the right." Natsume instructed.

Sliding open the door, Natsume watched as Matoba invaded his room like he owned it. It seemed so much smaller with the exorcist's presence in the middle. He watched as the other's eyes drifted around the room. He could be observing his surroundings as much as finding a place to store the spell materials in his hand.

Matoba finally settled on Natsume's desk. He set the bag down gently and untied the top. Expecting something to happen, Natsume flinched.

His cheeks warmed when Matoba shot him an amused look and made no motion to leave.

"Is that all there is to it?"

"Yes. It should help them forget about the incident and the time afterwards. Of course, they'll remember you, but they won't remember feeling suspicious or concerned. They might think it was a little weird how they were acting around you, but that will soon pass." Matoba assured him.

Natsume sighed with relief. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he felt the pressing sense of fatigue lift from his shoulders. He gave Matoba a look of sincere gratitude, a rare genuine smile on his face, "Thank you, Matoba."

The exorcist blinked in surprise. Perhaps he was not used to receiving such heartfelt compliments?

"Of course, Natsume. Any time." He looked like he wanted to say more, but Natsume didn't give him the chance as he headed down to Matoba's car.

"We should probably leave soon if we want to avoid the Fujiwaras seeing you."

"Right." It seemed to Natsume that Matoba was almost flustered. He blinked at his thoughts before he shook his head. There was no way that was possible.

Sitting in the backseat of the car next to Matoba, Natsume clutched his backpack. The Book of Friends tucked safely away, a change of clothes and a toothbrush packed. He was extremely nervous about bringing the Book of Friends into the Matoba residence, but there was no way he was going to leave it unattended in his room.

"There's no need to be so anxious, Natsume. You're only spending the night." Matoba's voice startled Natsume out of his thoughts.

He nodded to acknowledge the other before resolutely staring out through the window. The rest of the drive passed in silence.

When they arrived at the Matoba residence, Natsume briefly thought about running away. There were a few of those eerie black shiki Matoba seemed to like so much lingering around the front of the house.

"They won't attack unless I tell them to." Matoba reassured the boy.

Natsume watched them warily as he passed anyway. Not too keen on trusting the spirits after all of the torment they'd put him through. He still had dreams of being tied up occasionally.

He blushed as he recalled how some of those dreams were a little more pleasurably than he would have liked, involving a certain exorcist who controlled those spirits.

"Something wrong?"

Natsume's thought came to a screeching halt as he refocused on Matoba.

"No! I'm fine." He answered. It was too quick, if the odd look Matoba sent him was any indication. "Really."

Matoba stared at him for a long time, and when Natsume felt like his face was going to melt away from how hot his cheeks felt, the exorcist finally shrugged his shoulders and continued further into the house.

"Care for anything to eat or drink?"

"I'm fine!"

Matoba chuckled to himself. "Suit yourself. But don't think I am going to allow you to wander around late at night looking for something to eat. I'm afraid I still don't trust you, even if you willingly came along."

Natsume's brow wrinkled as he frowned. "You won't have to worry about me trying to eat in the middle of the night, that is more Nyanko-sensei's area of expertise."

His comment must have startled a laugh out of Matoba, because the older man didn't appear to have expected it. It was so different from his dark chuckles. It brought a soft smile to Natsume's face as a fleeting sense of pride filled him.

Wait a minute. What was he thinking? Matoba was dangerous. He tried to recall all of the horrible things the other had done to him, but he inevitably began thinking about his dreams again.

Large, warm hands running along his sides, grabbing his hips, pulling his thighs apart.

Nope!

No.

Natsume shook his head again. What was wrong with him? Maybe he should have brought Nyanko with him after all.

"This is where we'll be sleeping." Matoba informed him.

Natsume took two steps inside before the words registered. "We'll?"

"Did I not just mention that I didn't trust you not to sneak around?"

Natsume sent Matoba an accusatory look. Matoba smirked and pointed to the two folded-up futons on the side of his room.

"I had Nanase bring an extra one for you before I left." The exorcist explained.

Natsume felt a twinge of disappointment before he could stop himself. "Right. Thank you."

Matoba hummed, but offered nothing else.

It was weird that night. Usually it was difficult to get Matoba to stop talking when he was around Natsume, but now he was being eerily quiet.

They readied themselves for bed in silence before they set up their futons. Matoba near the front of the door and Natsume in the furthest corner. If he tried hard enough, he could pretend he was having a sleepover at Tanuma's. The only thing that prevented him was the awkward atmosphere that Tanuma and he almost never experienced.

They lay there in silence for a long time. Natsume was sure he was never going to sleep. He kept expecting Nyanko to burst through the door and save him from this awkwardness.

The moon was high in the sky and it bathed Matoba's room in the cool light. He could see the other man laying there. It was too dark to see his face, but he felt like he was being watched.

Huffing, he turned over and faced the wall. He knew he was being watched when Matoba chuckled quietly behind him. He pulled the covers over his head and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that the night would end faster and he could return home where it wasn't awkward, and everything made sense.

It seemed like forever before Natsume started to feel tired. He closed his eyes and felt himself drifting off finally.

He woke up in a familiar cell. One of Matoba's shiki were slowly tying him up. Still sluggish from just waking up, Natsume had little strength as he struggled against the spirit. He was helpless as his hands were pulled above his head and a rope around his neck was secured to the wall. After it had finished, he heard someone step into the cell.

"That's enough." At the command the spirit disappeared.

"Matoba?" Natsume's voice sounded far away. He figured it was because of the pressure around his throat.

The other said nothing as he stalked further into the cell. Matoba stood over him, his uncovered, dark eye revealing nothing as it pierced into Natsume's soul.

"I can't believe I trusted you." Natsume hissed through clenched teeth.

He felt his chin gripped and he was forced to look at Matoba's face. He averted his eyes before squeezing them shut. He wasn't going to let Matoba see the fear in his eyes or worse…the anticipation. The grip on his chin tightened before he was released. The other let out a sigh that ruffled Natsume's bangs.

With his head free, he twisted it to the side and glared defiantly at the floor. Whatever Matoba had planned, there was no way he was cooperating with him.

He felt Matoba's slender fingers brush across his chest and he snapped his attention back to the older man. "What do you think you're doing?"

The only response was for Matoba to find his nipples through the soft material of his sleep shirt and tease them for a few moments. Natsume felt his stomach flip but he dutifully continued to protest, even as his cheeks warmed. His arms pulled futilely against their restraints and the pressure around his neck increased until it was hard to breathe.

Matoba gave a dark chuckle as he slipped Natsume's shirt high enough that it stayed bunched up near his neck. His large, warm hands held the blond's sides as his thumbs rubbed over the sensitive nubs on the younger's chest. Natsume felt his lower half stir, but he kicked up his struggles to stop himself from feeling any more pleasure.

Unfortunately, Matoba seemed to know how he was feeling despite his efforts to hide it. He felt one of the hands caressing him sneak down and grip him through his pajama bottoms.

"A-ahh! Stop!" Natsume felt his face consumed with heat as he felt himself stiffen in the older man's hand.

Matoba didn't say anything as he continued to rub against the blond's groin. The other one continued to tease and rub at his nipple. The dark-haired man leaned down and Natsume's body froze when he felt heated breath against the side of his neck where it wasn't covered by rope. He nosed along Natsume's jaw line before nibbling on his pulse point. Not hard enough to mark him, just enough to let Natsume know who was in control.

The blond shivered when Matoba pressed his body along his. The other hand finally left his chest and he felt that warm hand caress his thigh. Against his will, he felt his thighs spread open invitingly.

Matoba chuckled against his neck, and Natsume tried to close his legs but Matoba had already slipped his thigh between them. When that thigh brushed against his groin he bucked into the pressure with a gasp. He felt electricity shoot up his spine and threw his head back at the intensity. He'd never been intimate with anyone and with Nyanko an almost constant presence, it wasn't often that he was able to pleasure himself, so every sensation was new and exhilarating.

He felt his pants and briefs pulled down in one harsh movement and he gasped at the sudden coolness. He wasn't protesting anymore, he found himself waiting and hoping that Matoba would finish what he started, and then he could forget this whole thing and move on.

He was completely exposed and Matoba took a moment to enjoy the view. He roughly spread Natsume's thighs wider and fit his body between them. There was a pause where he reached into his pants and freed his erection, Natsume couldn't see it clearly in the darkness of the cell. He looked into Matoba's single, dark eye with confusion and lust. He was confused why this was happening and even more confused about why he was enjoying it so much.

When Matoba grasped both of their erections and began to stroke, Natsume threw his head back and groaned in pleasure. As the exorcist pumped his hand, the two of them thrust shallowly into the pressure. The friction felt divine and Natsume felt himself slowly wind tighter and tighter. Matoba's other hand reached up and gripped the blond's hair and pulled to keep Natsume's neck exposed as he leaned forward and bit at the smooth column of flesh.

"Hah! Nnn!" Natsume couldn't control the moans and gasps spilling out of him from the rough treatment.

The hand in his hair disappeared and gripped his hip, sliding him closer to the older man. The heat and pleasure continued to build up before Natsume felt himself spilling over Matoba's hand and onto his stomach. He tried to prevent the groan of bliss, but it escaped anyway. Matoba seemed to finish at the same time and he felt the teeth disappear from his neck and only warm puffs of air against his neck.

"Natsume… Natsume." Matoba chanted his name next to his ear in his smooth, dark voice as Natsume caught his breath.

"Natsume?"

The blond's eyes snapped open with a gasp to find the sun shining into the room.

"Finally awake?"

Natsume twisted his body until he could see Matoba kneeling with a steaming drink in his hands on the other side of the room. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and grunted in acknowledgement. When he sat up, he felt the wetness between his legs, remembered everything from his dream, and blushed.

How was he going to get out of this one?

Holding his head in his hands, Natsume tried to think of a way to escape without Matoba noticing.

"Sleep well?"

Natsume shrugged, too busy planning.

"Would you like something to eat now? You didn't eat last night so you must be hungry by now."

Natsume's eyes widened and he sprung at the opportunity to possibly get Matoba out of the room. "Yes, please!"

Matoba chuckled. "Then when you get up we can head down to the kitchen and find something."

The blond felt his face fall. So close.

"Take your time getting up, I suppose. You can't return to the Fujiwaras' residence until this afternoon anyway."

Natsume nodded but said nothing. There was another uncomfortable silence that Natsume felt even more awkward in because of his current state.

The blond scratched at his hair and rubbed at his eyes as he continued to feign still being sleepy. He wished he was, then he could just turn back around and sleep, but he was wide awake after his discovery.

"Is something wrong, Natsume?"

The young man looked over to reassure Matoba that he was fine, but found the other man smirking. Natsume's eyes narrowed as he grabbed his nearby bag and ripped the covers away. Standing swiftly, Natsume headed for the nearby bathroom, he ignored any comment Matoba had and locked himself inside. He immediately changed into the clean outfit he had tucked away.

When he returned to Matoba's room, he found the other man waiting by the door. They headed down to the kitchen and shared a quick breakfast. Nothing fancy, just reheated food of a dinner from some previous night.

Natsume just occupied the same room as Matoba for much of the day, observing him when he thought the exorcist wasn't looking. It was odd to see him dealing with so much paperwork. He never would have imagined being an exorcist involved so much paperwork, and yet Matoba spent hours sifting through papers and doing whatever he needed to do with them.

Natsume couldn't imagine having to read through all of that with the use of only one eye. The man probably got headaches regularly from the strain. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for the other man.

It was a few long hours of silence that eventually became less awkward and more comfortable. It was odd being in Matoba's presence without constant teasing, offers, and subtle threats, but Natsume didn't exactly miss the other stuff.

Natsume was antsy as the afternoon approached. He hoped it worked. He wanted to go home and have everything be normal again. Without constantly worrying if he was going to cause them so much turmoil and grief just from them knowing his secret.

Matoba caught his eyes before resuming his paperwork. Natsume took that as a hint to settle down. He couldn't help that he had nothing to do. He'd finished his homework and had even doodled some cute, pudgy Nyankos and some fuzzballs for good measure.

When Matoba sighed and stood, informing him it was time to head back, Natsume sprang to his feet in an instant.

The car ride back wasn't nearly as painful as it was on the way to Matoba's house. Natsume thanked Matoba for good measure, because outside of his dream, Matoba had been on his best behavior. That went a long way in getting into Natsume's good graces.

He stepped into the Fujiwara residence and was received with warm smiles and enthusiastic greetings. He breathed a sigh of relief. The spell had worked. He made sure to look them over and to observe them for any ill side effects of the spell.

Taking a deep breath, Natsume lingered outside of his bedroom door preparing to face the probably irate cat.

He cautiously entered and was surprised when he met a blissed out Nyanko, lying flat on his back in the middle of the room cradling the spell bag.

"Sensei? What's wrong?"

"Nyatsume!" the cat slurred. "How nyice of you to join me."

"Sensei?" Natsume approached the cat and picked up the bag. He carefully opened the tie and peeked inside. He found a folded piece of paper inside. Curious, he pulled the paper out and unfolded it. Some green flakes fell out and Nyanko rushed over to eat them.

Natsume,

Hopefully by hand-delivering this letter and putting it inside of a bag my words will actually reach you. I placed some flakes of feline attractant inside in order to keep your bodyguard from looking for you and causing me unnecessary grief.

Natsume sighed as he crumpled the letter without reading the rest. At least he now knew why Nyanko wasn't badgering him both with questions and with his incredibly heavy body.

"Where were you, Nyatsume?" the cat complained as he dragged himself to Natsume's legs. He tried to climb up, but he was too uncoordinated to achieve his goal. Natsume took pity and scooped the spirit up into his arms. He rubbed the fur at the top of the cat's head affectionately and paused when the other sighed with contentment.

Natsume chuckled to himself before he continued petting Nyanko.

"I missed you."

Natsume wasn't sure if he'd heard correctly. The words were mumbled, slurred, and quiet. Still, they warmed his heart.

"I missed you too, sensei."

"Don't think we aren't going to talk about you going to the Matobrat's house." Nyanko threatened, sounding a little clearer. Natsume laughed nervously as he continued soothing the fur around Nyanko's face.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

 **Notes:**

 **I hope you liked it, hakuzo! Sorry if it wasn't exactly what you intended with the "cat is out of the bag" suggestion. orz**


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